Red Dragonfly
by Ghostwriter9000
Summary: When Town Recluse Jack Skellington finds a woman from his past he will stop at nothing to be with her again. But it's going to be hard, especially since the whole world wants to kill her, her sister wants to kill him and the Mayor won't stop following him! This is my first fanfic so please review! AU fanfic.
1. Her Again

**Yahoo! This is my first fanfic and I'm really happy about it! Thanks again for choosing to read this. I'm grateful for it and reviews are always welcome. Oh yeah, one thing about the story so you don't get confused. In this story, Jack doesn't live** **in Halloween Town and he doesn't know Sally just yet. But aside from that they both remain the same. I don't own the characters of TNBC, I only own the plot line of this story and my OC'S. **

* * *

Red Dragonfly

Chapter One: Her Again

It was silent that night, everyone was asleep in Kuroko (black insect) and it seemed like there were no signs of life anywhere. Except for one person, Jack Skellington. He was standing at the edge of a grassy cliff, which overlooked the ocean. His back was turned to the town he hated so much, and anyone who looked at him, would only see his silhouette against the moon.

But no one would look at Jack intentionally, to many, he was considered an eccentric. No one would speak to him, and he wouldn't speak to them either. The only friend he had was Zero; his ghostly dog, and other strange unwanted creatures that followed him.

It may have been because of the rumors spread about him, about the fact that he attracted unwanted spirits, spirits that brought misfortune to the town. Or maybe because he rarely ever interacted with anyone. Or maybe because of his mask. The mask that hid half of his face, much like the phantom of the opera. It's used to cover a burn scar across his face; the event never passed his lips. However, despite all these rumors, he was never affected by them. He was much more content with being isolated with his telescopes and his astronomy (and occasionally scaring his enemies, which he was very good at), and tonight was a special night for Jack.

Tonight was a full moon, and Jack was eager to watch the moon through his telescope. Astronomy was the only time he could forget his troubles. Such as the fact that he was engaged to woman named Jewel, a woman he didn't love. The only reason why he did this was to pay off a debt for the Mayor, someone who took Jack in after his burn accident. Another problem was his job; he was a jail guard, which wasn't so bad. He often immersed himself in conversations with the men behind the bars. But he'd rather be in a university, spanning his knowledge of astronomy. Instead, he had to try to learn as much as he can on his own.

As soon as Jack set up his telescope, he peered through it towards the moon and became lost in its light. Until something broke that trance. "A silhouette?" Jack thought, "But…but how?"

He peered through it again, trying to make sense of it all. Soon the light of the moon began to illuminate the silhouette and the shape became clearer. It was a small aircraft with two people on board, both women. The first one was as tall as Jack. She was a dark haired woman with a pointed hat, an eye patch and long flowing shawl. She also had cat ears sprouting from her hat and a long tail that flowed in the wind with her shall and long, black hair.

The second one seemed familiar to Jack. She had long red hair and a black bowler hat atop her head. She also had a lavender coat, a blue frilly tank top and a zebra-striped skirt. The whole outfit wasn't too revealing, but the few parts that were shown were covered in stitches, as if she had been poorly sewn together. The sight of her should have been unfamiliar to Jack, and yet it wasn't. He felt as if he had known her all his life.

Then a sick feeling came over Jack, he clutched his chest and began to fall backwards. As he was falling, memories of his childhood fell around him like pieces of broken glass. He felt the warmth of the sun and a gentle summer breeze whirled around him.

He remembered when he was little, he got stuck in a tree and couldn't get down, but then someone helped him down. "Who was it?" He thought. He tried hard to focus on his memory, and vaguely put the image together. "I know the person was a woman…. With red hair… and stitches!"

Then Jack hit the ground and watched the small aircraft head towards the woods. Jack covered his forehead and sighed. "Now I remember, it's her again."


	2. The One eyed Witch

**Okay, Chapter two is up! In this chapter our favorite bowler-hat-wearing skeleton makes a cameo (can you guess who it is)? **

**I don't own the characters of TNBC, they belong to Tim Burton.  
**

**P.S. Please review.  
**

* * *

Chapter 2: The One-Eyed Witch

Jack woke up to the sound of his alarm clock the next day. The Victorian-styled town was grey and gloomy again, as usual. He hardly got any sleep last night because his mind was clouded with the thoughts of _her_. Many thoughts paced through his skull "Why was she on that ship?" He thought. "And how come she hasn't aged at all since the first time I saw her? She should be an old lady by now (well maybe old lady is a bit of an overstatement)."

Zero nudged Jack and pointed his nose towards the clock. "You're right Zero," Jack said, "I should be getting ready for work."

It wasn't long before Jack got dressed and headed out the door. He wore a simple, light, brown coat, white shirt, blue tie, dark brown pants and a top hat that matched his coat. On the side of the brim of his hat was a little gold bat. People often said he dressed too formally to be a prison guard, but he didn't care, especially not now; he was late for work.

But he was stopped in his tracks by an angry (and ugly) woman with her hands on her hips. She pointed her finger at him and shouted "Where were you last night Jack Skellington!"

Jack sighed and walked towards his angry fiancee, Jewel and said "Don't I get a simple 'hello' first?"

"Answer me!" She shouted.

Jack hung his head back and mumbled "Why am I engaged to you?" Then he shifted his head back into a proper position. "The same place I always am at: the hill."

"Don't give me that crap! Don't you remember what last night was!"

Jack stood there and pondered for a moment, before shaking his head.

Jewel was even more furious now. "Ugh, I can't believe this! It was our wedding rehearsal!"

Jack slapped his forehead and groaned. "Oh man, I forgot."

"Yeah, you did."

Then Zero nudged Jack and sniffed his watch. "Oh no," Jack exclaimed, "I've got to get to work! Jewel, we'll talk about this later, okay?"

"No!" Jewel pouted and stomped the ground "We'll talk about this NOW!" But Jack had already passed her and made his way towards the jail cells, thinking how lucky he was to have left when he did.

Jack entered the jail and clocked in, and then he went and sat next to one of the cells. A skeleton named Bonejangles on the other side of the bars peered over at Jack.

"Hey there chum." He said "Why so glum?"

Jack sighed and looked at the prisoner. "The same reason I'm always glum."

"Crazy fiancée again?"

Jack smiled and looked at the wall ahead of him, with a distant look upon his face, "Yes, but something else too."

The skeleton grinned with interest. To him, Jack was his only source of entertainment, since his life was very much like a soap opera.

"I met someone that I knew from my childhood." Jack said.

"Really, and what's so special about it?"

"It was how I saw her. She was riding on a small aircraft and was headed towards the woods, and she hasn't aged a day!"

The skeleton grinned even more; he took this as an opportunity to make things more dramatic. "Well, why don't you go into the woods and try to find her?"

Jack smiled, "Maybe I should."

…..

The plan Jack had schemed up with Bonejangles seemed so brilliant at the time, and it would have if Jack didn't have the Mayor trailing along (He left Zero at home).

But the Mayor insisted that Jack shouldn't go into the woods alone, and after hours of arguing Jack finally caved in. He only won though because he would ask at the most random times, in hopes that he would catch him off guard; eventually he succeeded. So he reluctantly commenced his search for the mystery woman with the Mayor. A search that was filled with panicking.

With every leaf stepped upon, and every twig snapped the Mayor would panic and run about and Jack had to suppress his urge to kill the Mayor. Hours were spent searching for the red-haired girl, and after the sun had set, and no trace found whatsoever Jack decided to call it a day.

As the two headed back towards the entrance of the forest, Jack noticed something in the darkness and stopped in his tracks.

"Why did you stop?" The Mayor asked.

Jack put his hand over the Mayor's mouth and shushed him. His eye sockets were fixated on the dark figure in the shadows. "Was it her?" He thought.

Soon the figure began to move towards them, but it didn't look like a human, it looked like a beast! The Mayor shook in fear as he hid behind Jack, who stood his ground. The beast was moving closer, as well as the sounds of its heavy breathing. Slowly, the Mayor handed Jack a pistol he kept in his pocket.

"Sh-shoot it!" he shrieked

Jack took the pistol and steadily aimed it at the beast as it moved through the shadows, just waiting for a good opportunity to shoot it.

"Do it already!" The Mayor shouted.

Out of a slight moment of panic, Jack fired his pistol and grazed the beast's arm. It let out a roar of pain and fell down, revealing its head in the moonlight. It looked like some horrible tiger monster.

And then, the beast began to melt into a black ooze, revealing its true self; it was the dark-haired woman the Jack saw earlier.

"Oh my gosh," The Mayor gasped, "Jack, you just shot the accursed one-eyed witch!"


	3. Torako and Girlyman

**Alright, here's ch.3! Oh yeah, sorry for having Jack being engaged to Jewel, but don't worry I will quickly rip that already ruined relationship to tiny pieces.**

**Oh, also the name Torako belongs to my OC, but don't worry, she's really funny and sarcastic!  
**

**You know what belongs to who! Now read on!  
**

* * *

Chapter 3: Torako and Girly-man

Jack was back at the jail cell, cradling his head. He couldn't believe what he had done! He shot someone, and the person he shot was sitting in the cell right behind him. Jack kept reliving his encounter with the witch, even though it happened last night.

After he had shot the witch, the mayor began to frolic and dance about, as if it were a good thing. Apparently, it was.

"Why are you so happy!" Jack shouted.

The mayor continued to dance about, "Because, the one-eyed witch brings nothing but calamity and now that she's unconscious we can take her back to town and burn her at the stake!" Those horrible words were still with Jack the entire time. He looked back once more and saw the witch was half-asleep. She seemed to be in good health though. Out of sympathy Jack had bandaged her arm and disinfected while she was still asleep.

"Thanks." She mumbled, still half-asleep. Jack didn't say anything, but sat down in the cell with her for a few hours. Finally she woke up, stretching her arms out and yawning loudly. She looked ahead to find Jack sitting a few feet in front of her, still looking sad and somewhat mentally tortured. "Calm down girly-man." She said. "I'm not hurt, I've been through worse." Then she pointed towards her eye-patch.

Jack looked up at her and said "My name's not 'Girly-man!'"

The witch smiled at him wickedly. "Then what _is_ your name?"

"…..It's Jack, and your name?"

"Jack, hm? I like Girly-man better." Jack could tell right away that she was going to be bothersome. "By the way, my name's Torako, which means 'Tiger Child' in Japanese." She still continued to smile. "So, do you have any cards in this jail cell? Or am I going to have draw pictures in the walls with my nails?" Torako held up her hands and extended her claws, which retracted up to three feet long.

Jack looked at her shockingly, not just because of her nails but because she was still smiling. "Why are you still smiling!" Jack shouted. "You're going to be burned tomorrow night!"

Torako cackled, her voice echoed throughout the room, which startled many people in the nearby cells. "I'm not going to get burned; Sally's going to get me before that happens."

Jack was surprised when he heard that name. "Was Sally the woman she was traveling with?" Jack thought. He turned to Torako, now a little desperate sounding. "What does Sally look like?"

Torako's smile faded a little, and a hint of suspicion was creeping behind it. "She has long red hair….and she's covered in stitches."

The description matched perfectly to Jack's mystery woman, and now he was even more desperate to know her. He grabbed Torako by the shoulders and said, "How do you know her!" Thoughts raced through Jack's mind, he was afraid that maybe this Sally person was under a curse cast by Torako and she desperately needed help. However, these unpleasant thoughts soon turned into a romantic fantasy.

Of how Jack could save Sally from the evil clutches of Torako and how the two of them could get married afterward. These thoughts left a moronic expression on Jack's face which he was completely unaware of.

Torako's expression turned to disgust. She has the ability to tap into people's minds and vaguely read their thoughts. Torako read the words "Slay…Torako….Me….Sally….Married….Kids…." from Jack's mind.

Torako pushed Jack away even more disgusted by the fact that he started drooling. "Get away you creep!" Torako shouted, "As if I'd let you marry my sister!" Jack was mortified by Torako's words.

"Sister..."he thought, "How could something so sweet be related to something so horrible?"

Torako stood up and hissed, "I'm not horrible! I'm warped, but not horrible! Sally's not my sister biologically anyways."

Torako looked out the window, and continued speaking. "And besides, I don't think it's a good idea to try and meet her. That is, if you value your life."

Jack looked up at Torako. "What do you mean?"

"She saw you shoot me, and now….She wants revenge."


	4. The Flimsy Assasin

**All right Sally fans, here's our beloved rag-doll, Sally making an epic entrance! Now you'll get to see Sally jump into the action instead of staying on the side lines (Because a rag-doll in a fight could look pretty cool).**

**Once again, sorry the chapters are so short, but I'm pretty good at uploading chapters frequently (You probably got the first four chapters already)  
**

**I don't own the characters of TNBC, they belong to Tim Burton. I only own my OC'S and the plot line (of THIS story).  
**

* * *

Chapter 4: The Flimsy Assassin

The Mayor had just come into the room when Torako announced that her sister was coming, and she couldn't have said worse.

"Y-your sister, 'The Red Dragonfly' is coming?" The Mayor asked.

Jack stood there confused and looked at the Mayor. "The Red Dragonfly?" Jack asked, "What's the story behind that?"

The Mayor looked at Jack, with a grave expression on his face, "The Red Dragonfly-"

"Call her Sally!" Torako interrupted.

The Mayor growled at her and continued speaking. " 'Sally' is Torako's sister and she's also an immensely powerful witch. When the two of them are within a 50ft. circumference of each other, their magic begins to activate, and the closer they are the stronger it gets."

"Oh," Jack said, "Is that why you haven't tried to escape, Torako, because Sally isn't nearby?"

Torako grinned, "You're pretty smart, Girly-man! But don't underestimate us, just because we don't have magic that doesn't mean we can't defend ourselves." Then Torako gasped, she felt a small spark of magic in her.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked.

Torako turned her head towards Jack and the Mayor, giving her wicked smile which sent chills up both their spines. "My sister's coming. You better watch out Girly-man!"

…

It was just after sunset and it was already dark. The citizens of Kuroko were busy rushing through the gates of the walled city to ensure that they were on the inside when the bridge went up.

Sally was standing on a rocky cliff overlooking the town. She was dressed differently now. She looked more like a witch. She wore a long red dress with two black stripes that ran down from her neck to the bottom of the dress, where the two stripes split and ran back up to her neck on the backside. She also wore a red witch hat with a black brim and a black belt that held a black cloth which ran down to her knees. Long black boots and striped red and black socks.

Sally heard a creaking noise towards the town and saw the bridge to the town close up. "Shoot…" She thought, "It's going to be a lot harder to get into that town now." She extended her mechanical dragonfly wings, which had a hole in one of them. She got it when someone tried to shoot her and hit her wing instead. Sally never knew why she had those wings, but then again she didn't have any memories of her past at all. All she remembers is meeting Torako and adopting her as her sister, and the two of them have been together ever since.

And that's why Sally was furious. Every time the two of them went into the town, the citizens always tried to separate them, but this was the first time one of them got hurt.

Sally remembered the man, who shot Torako, and she was thirsty for revenge, but there was something that was something about that man that was familiar. Something that made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. But Sally brushed aside those feelings, she has work to do.

Sally reached into her pocket and pulled out a wooden red flute with hidden power and a mask preparing her for battle. She put on the mask which looked like something Princess Monnonoke would wear, but only covered one side of her face. That mask was worn multiple times in battle and it broke up a little each time.

Then at full speed Sally dashed down the cliff and towards the town with her wings gleaming in the moonlight.

Meanwhile, high in the watchtower of Kuroko, a sleepy guard was slumped over the side of the tower. He felt like going to sleep, but something starting shining in his eye, which kept him awake. He took a telescope and looked through it, and saw something that sent chills up his spine. It was the same thing he had been warned about for years: The Red Dragonfly. He ran over to the warning bell and began to slam his telescope against it, thinking it was a mallet. "The Red Dragonfly is coming!" He shouted, and soon the whole town was in a panic.

Back in the jail cell, all of the prisoners and guards were in a total panic, while Jack was trying to calm everyone down. "Calm down everyone!" Jack shouted, "If this jail cell can keep criminals in, then it can keep people out!" But, his words weren't reassuring anyone, especially since Torako was cackling harder than she ever had before.

She covered her face with her hand and said, "Oh man, Sally is _mad_!"

…..

Back at the top of Kuroko's wall, several guards were looking over the edge watching Sally dash down cliff.

"She's not gonna make it over the wall." One guard said.

"Eh, I think she'll make it." Another said.

The first guard looked at the other and said, "How much ya wanna bet on it?"

"Mm, fifty bucks."

"Deal!"

"Look alive men!" The captain shouted, "The Red Dragonfly will be here any minute, and when she gets here- OH MY GOSH!" The guards all looked at the captain, who was pointing down at the wall in fear. Sally was running up the side of the wall and she was almost at the top.

One of the guards took their guns and shot towards Sally. He missed, but he did hit a part of the wall that was right in front of her.

The guards began to cheer as Sally started to fall down with the chipped pieces of the broken wall. The first guard handed the other the fifty dollars they betted on, but stopped midway and noticed that Sally had grabbed a falling piece of the wall, and flapped her huge broken wings which projected her all the way to the top. The guard stuck out his tongue towards the other.

"Get her!" The captain yelled.

The guards began to charge towards Sally but she dodged each and every one of them, in a strange way. It was like she was having trouble keeping her balance, but she was used to it and knew how to take advantage of it. This made perfect sense considering the fact that she was a rag doll.

Soon Sally was surrounded by guards on both her right and left side.

"Give up!" The captain shouted, "You have nowhere to run!"

Sally smirked through the broken half of her mask, and leapt off the wall and stumbled somewhat gracefully onto a rooftop (Sorry for the oxymoron). Then she dashed away and jumped from rooftop to rooftop.

"STOP HER!" The captain shouted, and soon all the guards were either trying to shoot her or capture her. Many scrambled onto the rooftops ahead of her in an attempt to stop her.

As Sally jumped off of one of the roofs and was heading towards another, a guard shot off his cannon which landed just a few seconds before she did. Sally continued running, dodging several bullets by tilting her body a bit in a flimsy fashion.

One of the townspeople jumped in front of her with a spear in his hands. "You're not going to get away with this!"

Sally placed her hands on the flute and pulled one hand away from it as if she was unsheathing a sword. As she did, a glowing green blade emitted from it and purple smoke began to curl and twist around her as it escaped from the holes of the flute.

The townsman shook in fear, but stood his ground. Until he saw Sally charging at full speed towards him, then he jumped off the roof and landed on the captain. "Get off me, you buffoon!" The captain shouted.

"Ugh! I'm just running around in circles!" Sally said to herself, "Torako, where are you!"

Then Sally felt that her magic was growing very strong; she knew she was close, which meant she could summon "them."

Sally put the glowing blade back into her flute and put the instrument up to her lips, where she played a hypnotic and terrifying tune through it. The purple smoke took a solid form into 700 red monkey-like imps. "Find Torako!" Sally commanded.

The imps ran and screeched about running through the town moving at incredible speeds. Until one came to the roof of the jail cell and screeched loudly, signaling Sally that he had found Torako. Sally played the same tune she had played earlier, but this time in reverse, sucking all the imps back into the flute.

…

"What was that noise!" Jack said. There was even more panic in the prisoners.

"That was one of my sister's imps." Torako said, "I'd run if I were you, Girly-man. She'll be here any minute!"

Jack looked at the jail door, which was locked and noticed that a purple hand, which looked like smoke, was picking the lock.

The door swung open and Sally was on the other side, scanning the whole area. Then she noticed Jack, and began to charge after him, with her blade unsheathed.

"I told you Girly-man!"


	5. A Town Full of Superstition

**Here comes chapter five and a short Jack and Sally battle takes place (don't worry I'm not going to split them up). Then you'll get to here why Jack hates the town of Kuroko so much. Anyways, thanks again for reading my story, I really appreciate it**.

**I don't own the characters of TNBC, they belong to Tim Burton. I only own my OC'S and the plot line of this story. P.S. Please review if you can.**

* * *

Chapter 5: A Town Full of Superstition

The Mayor shrieked and ran into an empty cell, as Sally dashed by him, nearly knocking him over. She wanted only one thing: revenge.

Jack stood his ground. He didn't want to hurt Sally, but he would like to know her better (and then some). Sally swung her sword towards Jack, as he gracefully dodged each attack or blocked them with his cane. It almost looked like they were dancing, although one was incredibly graceful and the other one was unbalanced.

For a while, Torako stood in her cell and watched, seeing how well her sister could fight. But the fight was taking too long, and eventually Torako got bored. At least she had her magic back now. Torako hovered her hands over one another, creating a small black ball of dark shadows. Then she pulled her hands away very quickly, which caused the ball to break and the broken pieces hit and broke the lock on her cell.

She stepped out to help her sister, who was now 10 cells away, but was stopped in her tracks when she heard the sound the sound of stomping feet heading towards the door.

Jack heard the sound as well, and knew what it was: the captain and his guards.

Jack took his cane and used it to pull Sally close to him, which caused her whole face to turn a bright red.

"L-let g-go!" She shouted, and swung her sword around once more. Jack grabbed her arm right before she hit him and brought his face close to her's.

"Please," he whispered, "I want to help you, but I need you to do what I say." Then he turned his head towards Torako and the Mayor and said "And that goes for you two too!"

Torako was full of suspicion, she didn't know whether he was telling the truth or not.

"What's your plan, Jack?" The Mayor asked.

"I'm glad you asked, Mayor!" Jack said, "I'll need you to get that red paint in the closet, and then I'll tell you."

The Mayor rushed over to the supply closet as Torako made her way over to Jack and Sally. Jack pulled his cane away, finally releasing Sally. Sally was glad she was released, because she was about to pass out. Torako rushed over to her sister and helped her stand up.

Jack stared at his cane sentimentally, he wished he didn't have to do this, but it was his only choice. Jack lifted his cane and slammed it as hard as he could against a jail cell bar which caused everyone to jump and shriek. There was now a huge dent in his cane.

"All right," Jack said, "it's time for phase two of our plan. Mayor, the paint please!"

…

The captain and his guards were at the front door of the jail cell. "This is it men!" The captain said, "The Red Dragonfly AND The One-Eyed Witch are inside this building! Now the fact that they are together means that anything can and will happen. Be on your toes, men!"

The guards steeled their senses and prepared for battle as the captain opened the door. They were ready for anything, except what they saw next.

Jack was holding Sally, whose head was dripping red blood. The Mayor propped up Torako who was in a similar condition. The captain and the guards were mortified.

"What h-happed here?" The captain asked, trying hard not to provoke the savage in front of him.

"He didn't mean to!" The Mayor said, "He was just defending himself, the witches ganged up on him!"

Torako was trying so hard not to laugh. "Your acting is so bad, Mayor!" Torako whispered.

The Mayor was offended by this remark. "My acting! Look at your sister's! She looks like she's taking a nap over there!"

Unfortunately for Sally, she was a few feet away from Torako and the Mayor, because if she was closer to them, she would smack them both in the head for that remark. Thankfully, the captain was too oblivious to notice any of the ridiculous remarks that the "dead" witches were making. He was more immersed in the horror ahead of him.

"You…hit them…." The captain mumbled.

"Yes." Jack replied, feeling very good about his acting skills.

The captain looked at the incredibly large dent in Jack's cane. He found it hard to speak, "With….the….cane?" The captain was beginning to shake, especially when Jack stepped up to him, still holding Sally.

"Listen captain," Jack said, "I understand that this scene…bothers you. So I'm going to take these girls back to the cliff and give them a proper burial." Sally blushed a little bit upon hearing this.

"I'm glad he didn't say 'throw us off a cliff.'" Sally thought. "Maybe he really is trying to help us."

Jack began to make his way past the captain and the Mayor followed close behind, holding Torako (or at least trying to).

The captain watched the pair of men carry their victims out the door, and then realization came to him.

"Wait!" The captain said, "Since when do rag dolls bleed?"

A chill went down Jack's spine. He had been caught! Sally leapt out of Jack's arms and unsheathed her sword in an attempt to defend mayor dashed behind Jack, leaving Torako to be surrounded by guards, and soon he, Jack and Sally were surrounded as well.

The captain made his way towards Jack, laughing sinisterly and raised his gun in Jack's general vicinity.

"I always knew you'd do something like this, Jack." The captain said.

Jack felt more chills; he was in the worst situation possible. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"Ever since the day you've been born Jack, you've always defended the unwanted. Those creatures we never need or want could have been so easily disposed of, if you weren't in the way."

"I….I don't understand…." Jack mumbled.

This caused the captain to laugh even harder, and even rivaled Torako's laugh.

"Look around you, Jack!" The captain shouted, "Every prisoner in here is friends with you! And now look at you, helping those witches! It's disgusting how much you care for these vile creatures!"

Jack couldn't take anymore of this abuse. It felt like everything he did to help those in need was for nothing. He fell on his knees, and it felt like the world was spinning around him. The guards began to come closer, but Sally swung her sword about, keeping them away from Jack. "Get back!" She shouted.

The mayor jumped in front of the two. "Wait just a minute!" He shouted, "We are going to protect Jack and these witches AND were going to give them permission to pass through the town freely by order of the mayor!"

The captain wasn't fazed. "You think just because you're the Mayor, you're loved by all, and all obey you? You're no better than the Skellington boy! You're just a spineless wimp, whose own leadership is considered life's greatest mysteries! No wonder you took Jack in! You're both pathetic!"

The captain turned towards Sally and then looked back at Torako, getting ready for another insult.

"Don't even try." Torako growled.

The captain scoffed and looked at Jack. "Do you know why you protect the unwanted, Jack? Because you _are_ unwanted."

The captain began to laugh even harder, and his voice rang throughout the jail, until someone broke his laughter.

"Who says you can decide whether or not we're unwanted?" Jack said. He rose up to his feet. "You're living in a town full of superstition, captain, and you're not enforcing justice, you're just enforcing foolishness!"

The captain brought his gun closer to Jack, "Hold your tongue, if you value your life, boy," he growled.

"Well you certainly value these prisoner's lives!" Jack protested.

"What do you mean, they're just filthy prisoners!"

"They're people who were put in here because of ridiculous superstitions! Look at this man; you suspected he was a werewolf because he spent most of his time in the forest. Well, you know what? He's a biologist, and he was just about to discover a cure for a deadly disease! And this man; you thought he was a vampire, simply because he dislikes garlic. I've got a newsflash for you! Almost no one likes garlic! Unfortunately for you, there are MANY towns that co-exist with different cultures and all kinds of monsters, and one day it will be like that in this town too!"

The captain was enraged; it was the first time someone stood up against him. "Get them…kill them…ALL OF THEM!"

The guards began to charge after Jack, Sally and the Mayor, as Torako leapt towards them.

Jack jumped in front of the other three. "Run!" He shouted, "I'll hold them off!"


	6. What Normal People Would Think

**Um...Don't have much to say today...But now that I think about it I think this Red Dragonfly story is going to be pretty long (I guess that makes up for the short chapters though). I don't own the characters of TNBC and if you don't know who they belong to then there's something wrong with you.**

* * *

Chapter 6: What Normal People Would Think

"But Jack-" Sally protested.

"I said GO!"

Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, Sally began to run after the Mayor and Torako who were already out the door.

Once she got out the door, Sally felt that something was wrong; none of the guards were following her. She looked back and saw Jack being beaten by the guards!

"Don't stop until he's dead!" The captain shouted, then he turned his head and made eye contact with Sally. He gave her a sinister grin. "Once your little friend is out of the way, we'll take care of _you_!"

Sally shuddered and began to run away.

"I'm free!" She thought, "I can leave him… and get out of here! There's no point in going back… I just need to think about myself... Or at least… that's what normal people would think!"

She spun around on her heel and began to run back to the jail were Jack was. The red imps began to fly out of her flute as she played the same hypnotic tune she played earlier.

Jack looked up, now too weak to defend himself, and saw Sally and her imp's running back to him.

By now, Jack was half-dead (or half un-dead) on the floor, and the guards continued to beat him showing no signs of mercy. Then in Jack's blurred vision he the shaped of a woman with blood red hair running to him. "She…c-came…back…." Jack reached his hand towards her, but soon everything went black. The last thing he saw was Sally bring him closer to her and shelter the attacks, as the imps fought off the guards.

…..

"Hold on, Mayor!" Torako shouted. Torako looked behind her and noticed Sally wasn't behind her. "Sally? SALLY?" Torako screamed. She began to look around frantically for sister, constantly sniffing the air (because she's part cat).

"Oh no," The Mayor said, "maybe the guards got her?"

Torako looked back at the Mayor; her eyes were full of rage. "They…took Sally?" Torako mumbled, her breathing was getting heavier and she began to sound more like a beast than she did a human. "No one touches my sister!"

Suddenly all the shadows of the town began to seep away from the buildings and people, creating a black pool at Torako's feet. Torako dipped her hand into the pool as the shadows crawled up her arm. The shadows slithered and wriggled about like restless snakes. Soon they were all over her, and began to form a new shape. The Mayor recognized that shape; it was the shape of the beast he and Jack found in the forest.

Her new form was horrifying, and the Mayor felt like running away, but he didn't. He didn't want to be the spineless wimp the captain described him as.

The clouds above them were whisked away by the wind, as the bright full moon began to shine on Torako's beast-like body. And inside that body was silhouette of twilight that outlined Torako's original body. She turned to the Mayor and smiled, her white teeth shined through the darkness of the tiger-like beast.

"Forgive me, Mayor."She whispered, "But for a while, I'm not going to be myself." Torako began to snarl and growl, then she charged after the jail cell. The Mayor chased after her, while reloading his pistol.

"You're not going in this alone." He said.

…..

Sally tried hard to run away, but she was too weak. If she didn't get out of there she'd pass out, just like Jack, and her imps went from 700 to 7. Occasionally she would swing her sword about to keep the guards away, but it was getting harder. Her body was getting heavier and it was getting harder to protect Jack. Especially since the guards would try to reach under her and steal Jack away, but whenever they did Sally would swing her sword again. Except for the last guard; Sally bit him.

Once she realized that her teeth had made contact (and injury) to one of the guards, Sally pulled away in shock.

"No," She mumbled, trying to keep her sanity, "I can't do this; I can't end up like Torako!"

The battle had gone on for almost an hour now, and the captain was getting annoyed. "Ugh! The cat and the wimp have probably escaped by now!" He screamed. "Just put those two in a jail far away from here and then go hunt down the others!"

The guards obeyed, and grabbed Sally by the shoulders. She was still clinging on to Jack.

"No! Please stop!" She cried. "I can't….it can't end like this! I…I need help…I need….TORAKO!"

Sally looked ahead of her and saw a huge tiger with eyes blind with rage attacking the guards. Beside the cat, was the Mayor, who was shooting the locks off of the jail cell, thus, freeing the prisoners. The prisoners quickly joined the battle in an attempt to help Jack; their gratitude for him knew no bounds.

Jack looked up and saw what was happening. Weakly, he gave them a thumbs up and then fell back into unconsciousness.

"Torako!" Sally shouted, "Stop it! Your body can't take it!"

The tiger looked at Sally, and began to run towards her. Once she was close to her sister, Torako lowered herself down, growling something that sounded like "Get…on…"

Sally quickly mounted Jack and herself onto Torako, the Mayor did the same.

Torako hunched over, getting ready to pounce out the door, but a cold silver circle was brought to her face; it was a gun that the Captain was holding.

He had a black eye and his uniform was in tatters. "You're not….getting away….with this …" He huffed.

Torako wasn't fazed. "Sorry," she said, giving him a smirk through her beast fangs. "Maybe if you didn't hurt my sister, I would have sympathy for you. I mean look at you, you're more of a spoiled little brat than you are a man!"

Then in one swipe, Torako smacked the captain away with her massive paw and dashed out of the jail, and over the wall of the city.


	7. Memories Gained and Lost

**Okay kiddies, in this chapter we get some back-story time! I don't own the characters of TNBC and...you know the rest. (seriously I don't have to repeat myself EVERY time, do I)?**

* * *

Chapter 7: Memories Gained and Lost

It was warm that summer day. Many of the children in town were all gone away on vacation, except for one: Little Jack Skellington.

He couldn't leave the town because his parents wouldn't allow it. They were strict and uptight about everything. Worst of all, his best friend (who refused to let him call himself anything but "Mayor") was out of town.

So all the little eight-year-old skeleton boy could do, was play and explore the outskirts of town. And today, Jack was exploring plain that he had never seen before. It had a red glow to it due to the sunlight and swayed in the breeze. There wasn't much there, except for a long dead oak tree that stretched up to the sky. It left Jack in awe. He had never seen such a big tree before, and he was determined to climb it.

"Papa said I'm going to be tall when I grow up!" Jack grinned mischievously, "But why not be tall now?"

Jack dashed off to the tree, running as fast as his legs could carry him. Soon he was next to the tree and gazed up at its godly height.

"Wow, it's a lot taller from this angle." Jack said, slightly intimidated, "But that's not gonna stop me!"

It wasn't long before Jack reached the top; he never took a moment to look down, he was too determined to reach the top. He only looked down once, and by then it was too late. He was at the top.

"GAAAAAAH!" Jack screamed. "There's no way I can get down from here! There're no footholds! My parents are going to kill me if I don't get home in time! Uhh…HELP!"

For several moments Jack proceeded to call for help and occasionally trying to get down himself. However both options brought neither assistance nor a good footing on the ground.

Eventually Jack gave up. "Someone will come looking for me…..I hope."

For a while, Jack did little things to keep him entertained. He would see how far he could throw tree branches, or simply stare up at the sky. Then he noticed something in the sky, something shiny and it was moving incredibly fast. Too fast for Jack's eye sockets to follow. He was better off following the gust of wind attacking the plains, which followed the object.

It was strange, it was fast and it was heading right above him! Jack covered his eye sockets so nothing would get caught in them, and in that darkness of his own skull Jack felt the wind fly all around him.

It felt horrible, like he was in some kind of nightmare. The wind kept whipping around him, showing no sign of stopping and the feeling went on for several moments.

Soon the wind died down and Jack hesitantly opened his eyes. Everything was the same; Jack was still in the tree and nothing had changed.

Except for one thing, there was girl there and she was looking at Jack and smiling.

She was young, but much older than Jack, and she seemed very different from what Jack had seen. There was a spark of life and happiness to her, which no one in Jack's town had. A little strange too, she had red hair and stitches, much like a ragdoll.

"Were you the one that called for help?" She asked.

Jack's cheekbones turned pink, he wasn't used to having a girl like her talk to him. "U-um…..y-yes?"

"Okay," She said, "I can help you get down.

"How!" Jack said, "It's impossible for anybody to get down from here! What are you going to do? Jump down?"

The girl nodded, which made Jack think he was talking to a crazy person. "Are you out of your mind! We'd both die!"

The girl chuckled, "You've obviously never met my sister. She jumps down from all kinds of heights, and she makes me do the same."

"I don't believe you-" Jack said, but before he could finish his sentence, the girl had lifted him up and jumped down from the enormous tree.

Once Jack was at the bottom of the tree (still being held up) his eye sockets were wide with excitement. "That…was….AWESOME!" He shouted.

The girl set him down, and Jack quickly spun around and gave her hug. "I've never hugged a _pretty_ lady!" He thought. The girl was surprised at first, but happy.

Jack felt warm and dreamy. He closed his eyes for a few moments and pretended he never had to leave. But soon the warm feeling faded, and a strong gust of wind flew around him. When he opened his eyes she was gone.

"Was it all a dream?"

…..

Jack woke up from his childhood memory and rubbed his skull, but something felt different, there was something cloth-like on his head and beneath his head was something soft and a little lumpy.

"Oh good, your awake." Sally said, looking down at Jack. She was covered in bandages and had an ice pack- eye patch (custom made by Sally) on her left eye.

Jack lifted his hand and felt what was under his head, and was a little shocked. Apparently, his head was resting on Sally's lap. He quickly pulled his hand away.

"Sorry." He said.

"That's okay." Sally said, even though she thought Jack had enough _adventure_ for one day. "I bandaged you up, by the way."

"Thank you." Jack said as he began to sit up.

"Be careful not to fall!" Sally said

"What do you mean fa-GAAAAAH!"

Jack looked down and noticed he was in the same tree he was in when he was a kid, where he first met Sally.

"Oh god!" He shouted, "Not this tree again!" He peered down once more. "Did it get taller than the last time!"

"Sorry," Sally said, "I would have left you back at the ship but Torako didn't want an extra patient to take care of, so she made me take you with me."

"By 'patient' do you mean the Mayor?" Jack asked

"Yes."

"And by 'ship' do you mean that thing you and Torako rode on?"

"Wow, you saw us? You're pretty attentive Jack. Not to mention brave and adventurous, you haven't changed a bit."

Jack was surprised at her response. "You still remember me?" He asked

Sally smiled back at him. "Of course I do!" She beamed, "You may have grown up, but your face hasn't changed a bit!" Upon saying so, Sally pinched Jack's cheekbones and stretched them apart for her own amusement.

"Change." Jack thought, it made him remember that Sally hadn't aged a bit since the first time they met.

This caused him to ask her "Why haven't you changed since the first time we met?"

Sally stared him, smiling melancholically. "I don't know." She said. "I don't have any memories of my past. But I've been alive for centuries."

She looked down with a lonely and distant look on her face, but then she felt something wrap around her and move closer. She looked to the side and saw Jack hugging her.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"It's okay, I've gotten used to it."

"Not just for that, for leaving you in that battle. If I hadn't fallen into that coma, you wouldn't be like this."

Jack had never felt so terrible, and Sally knew it, but this feeling was unusual to Sally. No one had ever been nice to Sally, let alone hug her (well aside from Torako who wasn't much of a hugger….more of a slap across the face and a pep talk kind).

"Thank you." She said.

For a while, the two of them stayed in each other's arms, but a loud snap caused them to pull away. They looked down and noticed that the branch beneath was about to break.

"Move Sally!" Jack shouted, but it was too late, they were already falling to the ground.

Sally sprouted her wings and tried hard to slow their fall. But her wing was tattered and it was too hard to lift Jack too. There was only one thing left to do. Sally shifted herself in mid-fall making sure she was underneath Jack. Then she pointed her wings straight to the ground in hopes that it would break their fall.

"No, Sally!" Jack shouted, "Don't do it!" But before he could do anything about it, shattered glass and pieces of metal were everywhere.

…..

Sally slowly opened her eyes and noticed Jack's face light up.

"Thank goodness you're alive!" Jack shouted.

Sally sat and looked back at where her wings would have been, but they weren't sprouting out of her back, they were all over the ground in pieces.

"My wings…" Sally said, "They were the only clue I had to my past…"

Jack couldn't believe what he had heard; Sally had just sacrificed something extremely important to her just to save him.

"Sally…" he said.

"Don't worry about it."

"I'll make it up to you!" Jack said.

Sally looked back to him, not sure what he was going to say. "How?" She replied.

"I'll come with you!" Sally was shocked; she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Someone out there must know who you are, and I can come with you to find them!"

"Jack-"

"I mean it Sally, I want to help you."

There was a moment of silence as Sally fiddled around with the broken pieces of glass, then she turned around and faced Jack and hugged him.

"Thank you."


	8. Seeing you off

**I was planning on posting this story later, but I really liked it, so I'm posting it now. Also, our favorite puff-ball Kirby is appearing in the next chapter.**

**Okay, I don't own the characters of TNBC and etc. I only own my OC's/the plot line.**

* * *

Chapter 8: Seeing you off

"You #$%&*!" Torako shouted, as Sally and Jack entered the inside the ship (It had a small circular shape and was extremely huge on the inside, it looked like the inside of a house, due to Sally and Torako's magic). It wasn't long before she noticed the missing wings and extra bruises on her sister.

Jack had a worried look on his face. "Why is she yelling at me?" He thought.

"What the heck did you do to my sister!" She shouted once more.

Jack nervously peered at Sally who was holding several pieces of glass and looking just as guilty.

Jack took a piece of glass from Sally and began to twirl it about in his fingers. "Um…well you see… there was this tree….and we fell…and…um…"

Torako sneered, "Tree huh? What were you doing is this tree? I bet you were trying to make a move on my sister weren't you!"

Jack was completely shocked; never in his life would he be disrespectful to woman. "I didn't do anything!" He countered.

Sally leaned close to him, with cheeks bright red and whispered "Well… you d-did… hug me…"

The Mayor was resting in a room nearby when he overheard the conversation. "Ha, ha! Jack and Sally sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes-"

"QUIET!" Torako shouted, "If you don't hurry up and rest, I will come in there with a frying pan and PUT YOU IN A COMA!"

"Your sister would make a terrible nurse." Jack whispered to Sally.

"I know, that's why I try not to get sick around her." Then Sally remembered something. "Hey sis, there's something I need to tell you!"

Torako came out from the kitchen with a frying pan in her hands when she heard her name being called. For the mass majority of the time Torako was usually in a bad mood, but she always seemed to be nice to Sally no matter what mood she was in. Such as now. "What is it sis?" She asked sweetly.

Sally was smiling, extremely excited about what she was going to say. "Guess what Torako? Jack says he's going to travel with us and help me find my memories!" At this point her seams were ready to burst.

However, Jack wasn't as happy, not because he didn't want to help, but because Torako still had a frying pan in her hands, and it looked like she was getting ready to hit him.

"You wanna join us, bonehead?" She said sinisterly, "Well…get ready for the initiation!" And with those words, Torako proceeded to chase Jack around the ship (or house, whatever) while constantly swinging the frying pan at him.

While Jack was running he noticed Sally's cheerful expression. "What kind of initiation is this!" Jack shouted, still puzzled as to why Sally was smiling.

"Well as long as you don't die within an hour's time, you can join us!" Sally cheerfully chirped.

"And your smiling because!"

"Because I know you'll make it!"

Jack felt warm and happy inside, it was new feeling to him and he loved it. "Aw, thanks Sally- *CLANG* OW! Torako, why!"

"Move it!" Torako shouted, getting ready to hit him on the head a second time.

"Hey," The Mayor said as he was emerging from his room. "I want to join you too-*CLANG* I guess that means 'yes.' "

…

The next morning Jack woke up on the floor with a huge bruise on the back of head that read "Burton's Frying Pan Co." That same bruise was on the Mayor and even Sally (But that's what happens when you try to intervene).

Jack slowly stood up and tip-toed out the ship, making sure not to wake anyone up but stopped just as he had made out of the door when a voice called out to him from behind.

"Where are you going?" The voice asked.

Jack turned around and noticed Sally, waking up from the frying pan fiasco and mumbling something that sounded like "I wish I saw that frying pan coming."

Jack had to keep hard from laughing, which is hard when you're looking at who has frying pan brand on their arm and wooden floor grooves on their face.

"Don't laugh," Sally said playfully, "you look just as ridiculous!"

"I guess I do. But don't worry; I'm just going to get a few things from my house."

Sally stood up and walked over to Jack. "Can I come with you?" She asked.

…..

After waiting a few moments for Sally to change into something less witch-like, Jack decided to wait outside of the ship and see what sort of things lived in the forest. But he couldn't believe what he saw! All of the strange creatures that followed Jack since childhood were there, and so were all of the escaped prisoners. Amongst that crowd was Zero, shaking his tail excitedly.

"Zero!" Jack shouted. The giddy ghost dog barked cheerfully and rushed towards his owner, covering his face in dog kisses.

"All right, all right. Calm down boy!"

"What's going on?" Sally said, emerging from the ship.

Bonejangles stepped forward and said, "We're 'ere to see Jack off!"

Jack rose from his Zero's slightly insane embrace. "You knew I was leaving?"

"Of course!" One of the sprits said, "We all knew Jack!"

Then one of the spirits floated over to Jack and handed him an orange bag with a pumpkin face on it. "I think you'll want these." The spirit said.

Jack took the bag and looked inside it. It had all of his astronomy equipment inside, as well as something some of his clothes and something green and slimy. Jack touched the slimy object and it immediately coiled around his arm like it was alive.

"What is this?" Jack asked.

"It's called a soul robber!" The spirit beamed, "It's a powerful weapon that can only be found in the spirit world!"

"Mm, looks more like flubber to me."

Jack looked behind him and noticed Torako and the Mayor exiting the ship.

"It's the spirit says it's a soul robber than it's a soul robber!" Jack protested.

"No, it's flubber. Definitely flubber." Torako replied (hoping it annoyed Jack).

If Jack had eyes, he would have rolled them. Then he shifted his attention back to the crowd, "Anyways, thank you so much for all of this! I'm really glad you came to see me off."

"No Jack," The spirits said, "We should be thanking you. You were the only one who understood us and the only one who defended us. We're all going to miss you."

Jack smiled and held the bag close to his chest. "I'm going to miss you guys too!"

…

It was nighttime and Jack was settling into his new room. The ship had already departed and was high up in the night sky. Torako was on the top of the ship surveying the area making sure no one would try to shoot them down. However, a spell was place on the ship's controls, that way they would only go where they fate took them, but not even Torako knew where the ship was headed.

But it was worth it. Jack had a nice room, he had his own bathroom, a large window, a chest drawer, a mirror, a bookshelf, a lamp and it was next door to Sally's room.

After finally getting dressed into his pajamas Jack went over to window and looked outside. It was amazing; he had never been so close to the sky before. He saw birds fly past him and an entire world was below him. At some point, the ship went through a cloud and everything went dark. It didn't affect Jack though because he could see through the darkness very well, however it did surprise him a bit since it happened so suddenly.

"Whoa." He exclaimed.

"Don't worry, it shouldn't last long." Sally said.

Jack could see her a little bit in the darkness, but it was still difficult. He could see her face illuminated by the small flickering candle she was holding and he could also see her white, short-sleeved night gown which was very simple.

"Don't worry about me," Jack said, "I can see very well in the dark."

Sally set the candle down on the chest drawer and walked over to the window where Jack was.

"It's nice to have room that's in the sky, isn't it?" Sally said.

"Yes… I'm glad I made this decision."

For a while there was some silence, as the two of them stared at the dark cloud out the window. When the ship made it out of the cloud Sally broke the silence.

"I've been meaning to ask you something, Jack."

Jack looked at Sally and smiled. "What is it?"

"Why do you wear that mask? Did something happen to you?"

Jack's smile faded and he placed his bony fingers on the window. "When I was little, I got a cut on my cheekbone. It stung awfully and didn't go away for weeks. That was when a spirit that I had made friends with treated and healed it. When my parents noticed the cut was gone, they asked me what happened I told them that 'Mr. Johnson put some medicine on it.' Of course they thought I was crazy, especially since Mr. Johnson had been dead for years, but I insisted on the fact that I saw him. It was then and there that my parents knew of my ability to talk to spirits and branded me as cursed. So in order to get rid of the medicine inside me….. My parents burned a part of my face."

"Jack….I'm sorry…" Sally whispered.

Jack put his arm around her. "It's okay; at least one good thing came out of it."

Then he fixed his gaze on Sally and whispered "At least I got to meet you."

They stared into each other's eyes for a few moments and began to lean in for a kiss, and when they were centimeters apart a big "awww" came from behind them.

"That's so sweet." The Mayor said. Then he began to usher a "go on, go on" movement.

"MAYOR!" Jack shouted.

The Mayor's face changed to worry. "Remember that frying pan?" Jack said.

"Err…I can see you're busy, so I'll just go…."

And with that the Mayor dashed away with Jack chasing after him.

Sally placed her hand on her forehead and sighed.

"I have a feeling this is going to be a wild adventure."

* * *

**Okay, here's a preview for the next chapter (I'm feeling generous today).**

The Mayor excitedly grabbed his hat and peered at the wealth inside. It was more than they expected, much more. Inside, the hat was filled to the brim with souls (little gold coins used for currency, not the spiritual drive of a living being). But there was one extra thing inside that was very strange.

It was a small, gray, round creature with oval eyes, little stubs for hands and a ghostly tail. It greeted the four with a happy noise that sounded like "Poyo!"

Torako extended one of her claws and poked the little creature, causing it to giggle a bit. "What the heck is it?" Torako said.

Sally peered into the hat and said, "Whatever it is, it is sure is ghoulishly cute!"

Then Jack took a look at it. "It looks like a character from a video game that a lot of children in my hometown play. What was it called again? Kirby?"

"No way!" Torako shouted. "It's obviously a poke-ball from Pokémon! Here, I'll prove it by throwing it at the Mayor!"

"How's that going to prove anything!" The Mayor hysterically shouted.


	9. The Quest for Memories and Money

**To my readers; Sorry, but Kirby won't be in this chapter, but I PROMISE he (or she) will be in the next chapter. Also, in the preview from the previous chapter, it described Kirby as being gray and having a ghost tail. **

**Well, for any of you who have played Kirby Squeak Squad and got the ghost medal then you'll recognize the description as Kirby's ghost copy ability. **

**Because let's face it, it would look pretty weird if Jack was walking around with a pink puff ball. Anyways, you know what I own and what I don't, so there. **

* * *

Chapter 9: The Quest for Money and Memories

"Sally, Jack, Mayor get your butts down here! We've got urgent business to talk about!" Those were the words shouted by Torako that caused Jack to fall out of his bed, Sally to trip down the stairs and the Mayor to nearly choke on his own toothbrush.

It would take about two minutes for the startled trio to re-collect themselves, but Torako could only stand one minute. "I said MOVE!" Torako shouted.

After hearing the anger in Torako's voice, Jack and the Mayor dashed out of the rooms looking a couple of dorks. Jack came out with his coat on over his pajamas and only one shoe on. The Mayor came running out in a pair of light blue boxers with rubber ducky prints on it and his face was smeared with toothpaste.

And about halfway down the stairs the two of them tripped over Sally causing her limbs to fly in every direction.

The poor thing was crushed like a bag pipe. *Wheeze*

"I'm sorry!" Jack cried.

"It's okay!" Sally replied, in a sort of breathless way, making her voice resemble an old lady's. "Besides, I learned a good spell on how to put my limbs back together really fast...But I'm going to need help sitting up first."

"Alright." Jack peered up the Mayor who was half way into a coma and sitting on top of his back. "Mayor, I'm going to get up now."

"W-w-wait! I'm not ready, I'm not-WHOA!" Soon the Mayor flew off of Jack's back and landed on top of Zero, who proceeded to maul him.

However, Jack ignored the girlish shrieks coming from the Mayor and went over to help Sally sit up.

"Thank you, now I'll show you that trick I was talking about."

Once Sally was in an upright position, she pointed her right shoulder towards her disembodied arm. Then she whispered an ancient spell under her breath and suddenly the threads on her arm began to wriggle about, as if they were coming to life. Soon the threads began to wriggle faster and faster and faster until they stretched back to Sally and re-threaded themselves back together.

"That's really neat, Sally!" Jack exclaimed.

"Jack," Torako said, "Can you stop your dog before he minces the Mayor?"

….

After going back into their rooms and making their appearance look more….sane, The Mayor and Jack both went back downstairs for breakfast and sat at the table with Sally, who was wearing an orange summer dress with an unbuttoned purple sweater. Torako was standing in front of the table with a chalkboard that read "Plans for when we get into town" and wearing a blue sweatshirt with a skull on it and a pair of black jeans. Both of these outfits were to deter from the fact that they were witches.

"Okay," Torako said "since we have extra additions to our crew, it's going to be harder to manage our finances. So we need to think up some plans to scheme up money. Any ideas?"

Jack raised his hand and Torako pointed at him with a piece of chalk in her hands. "Yes, the scrawny toothpick sitting in the middle!" She said.

"I'm not scrawny! And why don't we get some part-time jobs-"

"NO! That would take too long. I'm talking about INSTANT CASH!"

Then the Mayor raised his hand.

"Yes, the insecure two-faced Mayor, what's your plan?"

The Mayor straightened his coat and tried to act as suave as possible, acting like he was in a 1950's bad boy movie. Then he licked his hand and slicked back his eyebrows and said, "Let's just say…I know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows how to get us some money."

Creeped out by his idea, Jack and Sally scooted their chairs far away from the Mayor.

"…..How the heck did you get elected?" Torako thought. "Anyways, Sally do you got any ideas."

Of course by then, Sally scooted her chair so far back that she was in the other room. "What did you say?" She called.

Torako slapped her forehead and then shouted "Sally you overacting drama queen, It's just the Mayor, he's not gonna hurt you! I mean for crying out loud, he got beaten up by Jack's little puppy!"

Shyly, Sally came back into the room, holding her chair up towards the Mayor like she was some kind of lion tamer. When she felt more secure, she placed her chair next to Jack, and made sure she was on the other side of table from the Mayor.

"I do have a good idea, though." Of course this statement was no surprise to anyone. Amongst the group, Sally seemed the most…together (figuratively of course). "Anyways, we all have good talents, so why don't we try some street performing?"

"Whoa, nice Sally!" Torako exclaimed.

"I liked my idea better…" The Mayor grumbled.

"That would help us find Sally's memories too!" Jack said.

Everyone turned to Jack, having even never thought of using their money scheme to help Sally's memories. However, they weren't sure how street performing would help find someone's memories. Thankfully, Jack read the confused expressions upon everyone's faces and no further questions were needed.

"If people see Sally perform, then maybe one of them will know who she is."

"Nice, Girly-man." Torako snickered.

"For god's sake, stop calling me that!"

For a moment, Torako continued to amuse herself from Jack's incredibly angry face, however, the amusement ended when she saw Jack's several broken bones (of course they all had it, but Jack's was more noticeable). She quickly got up and went to the fridge, where she pulled out numerous gallons of milk and placed them before her cohorts. There were three gallons of milk for everyone.

"Drink it, _all_ of it."

The party exchanged glances, and prepared their stomachs for the possibility of vomiting when they got through the lactose nightmare sitting in a jug before them.

…..

Shakily, the band of four emerged from the ship, shortly after landing in an abandoned ghost town a few miles away from an inhabited town.

Even though the bright lights of the town could easily be seen from their location, it was hard for them to maneuver about. Especially after drinking an amount of milk that was on the borderline of humanly impossible, and the fact that it was very dark that night.

The town ahead of them was very different from Jack's hometown, it was lit up with neon lights and there was color everywhere. It even had what Jack had longed for, that he couldn't find in his hometown: All kinds of different monsters and the streets were filled with them. There were even some monsters Jack had never seen before (the same went for the Mayor; however Torako and Sally had seen similar sights). Each one had a smile on their face.

For a group of rookie street performers, they couldn't ask for more. Of course, there was one little problem: they didn't know what they were going to do for a performance.

"Let's set Jack on fire." Torako suggested.

Jack stared back at her menacingly. "Let's set _you_ on fire."

Sally glanced around at their surroundings until her eyes came upon a children's toy store that sold glow-in-the-dark juggling balls. Quickly, she dashed into the store to purchase the item, unaware that Jack and Torako were doing an experiment on each other and that experiment was; is it possible to ignite without a match? So while Sally was gone, the Mayor was left to watch Torako and Jack skid across the pavement in an attempt to cause sparks under their feet and set the other one on fire.

….

It took much persuasion on Sally's part, but finally the victims of her bribing, pleading, screaming, harming, swearing, puppy-eyes and threats to drink more milk finally caved in.

And now, here they were getting ready to do a juggling act that they had never practiced before. What could go wrong? Well, a lot of things actually, but unless you were Jack, Sally, the Mayor or Torako the worst case scenario would most likely not happen. And if all four of them were together, then the worst case scenario would DEFINITELY happen.


	10. The Worst Case Scenario

**Okay, I've been having this good idea for a fanfic and I can't wait anymore. So I'm going to do what is probably a bad idea, and work on that story and this story at the same time. So when I upload it on to this website, give a review and say which one you like better. That way, I'll know which one to focus more on. So keep your eyes peeled for Bride of the Ice King (TNBC Fanfic). You know what belongs to who. Ciao!**

**P.S. If later on, you don't like having Kirby in the story, let me know through a review and I'll rearrange the story and...take care of him...heh,heh.  
**

* * *

Chapter 10: The Worst Case Sceanario

The four of them stood in a square shape with three balls in their hands. A small crowd anxiously waited for the performance to begin, so they could judge whether or not their money would be worthy of the Mayor's hat, placed to the side of their performance. Next to the hat was a sign that said "Our dear rag-doll friend lost her memories, please contact us if you know anything about her."

Then, they raised their hands in the air and Sally shouted out, "Begin!"

It went well at first. Whenever a ball was tossed, someone else would catch it. However, the whole thing was un-coordinated and it wasn't long before nine balls were tossed at the Mayor, and even though he caught each one (which earned them a fair sum of cash) he was annoyed by the gesture, and threw the balls back as hard as he could. This was surprisingly hard.

They flew at the speed of a race car, and singed Sally's hands when she caught them. Another ball flew straight past Jack's face and grazed his cheekbone, and then proceeded to hit Torako in the head.

Mischievously, Torako took the ball and tossed it about in her hands. "You're gonna get it now, shorty…" Torako mumbled.

Quickly, she threw the rage-imbedded ball back to the Mayor, hoping it would hit in the head, but it stopped about mid-way and landed…between Jack's femurs.

"Just _what_ were you aiming for!" Jack screamed.

"I _was_ aiming for the Mayor's head, but you got in the way!" As she said this, Torako proceeded to throw another ball, this time aiming at Jack. However, Jack ducked about a millisecond before it hit him and Sally took his place as the new target.

"Ow!" Sally began to rub her forehead so she could get rid of the throbbing pain. "Mayor, why'd you throw that at me!"

"I didn't, it was Torako!"

"It's Jack's fault for moving his big fat head!"

"Right, right, next time I'll just take the hit…and then I'll knock you out with that frying pan from last night!"

And as predicted, the worst case scenario did happen; total chaos. But fate decided to spare the four and rewarded them with tons of cash from their audience.

"Best comedy act, ever!" One man shouted.

"Ah-ha-ha-ha! My sides hurt from laughing!" Another one shouted.

Although, it wasn't until the four performers had each other in a strangle hold, that they noticed their cheering audience. And once they were out of their savage holds, their audience scattered away and went back to their own business.

The Mayor excitedly grabbed his hat and peered at the wealth inside. It was more than they expected, much more. Inside, the hat was filled to the brim with souls (little gold coins used for currency, not the spiritual drive of a living being). But there was one extra thing inside that was very strange.

It was a small, gray, round creature with oval eyes, little stubs for hands and a ghostly tail. It greeted the four with a happy noise that sounded like "Poyo!"

Torako extended one of her claws and poked the little creature, causing it to giggle a bit. "What the heck is it?" Torako said.

Sally peered into the hat and said, "Whatever it is, it is sure is ghoulishly cute!"

Then Jack took a look at it. "It looks like a character from a video game that a lot of children in my hometown play. What was it called again? Kirby?"

"No way!" Torako shouted. "It's obviously a pokeball from Pokémon! Here, I'll prove it by throwing it at the Mayor!"

"How's that going to prove anything!" The Mayor hysterically shouted.

Without paying much attention to what the Mayor had to say, Torako pulled the little round…thingy out of the hat and looked at the Mayor, with a face that made the following statement seem like pure logic (to her anyways); " Look Mayor, for as long as I've known you, I've noticed something about you. You have all the qualities of a Pokémon: You're short, you're deformed and you're abnormal. So by throwing this pokeball at you, I'm going to prove that you are a Pokémon."

Then, with all the strength in her arm, Torako hurled the little round creature towards the Mayor, but little did they know the outcome would be similar to what Torako said.

About ¾'s of the way there, the little creature opened its mouth (which was surprisingly massive) and sucked the Mayor in. The only thing left of him, were his legs dangling out of its mouth.

"See, I told you!" Torako said, practically ecstatic about what happened.

"Hey, we could do that for our next performance!" Sally said.

"Okay," Jack said, "but first, could you help me pull out the Mayor?"

Torako walked over to the pathetic sight of Jack trying to pull out the Mayor, while Sally looked at the strange creature and said "From now on, we'll call you Kirby!


	11. The Letter

**All right, here's chapter 11! Thanks for all the reviews, by the way. I really appreciate it!** **As a reward, at the end of this chapter I'll give you the lyrics to a really goofy song that you can use to bug people with! You know what belongs to who. Ciao!**

* * *

Chapter 11: The Letter

The group stayed and performed in the town for about a week, and each time they performed, Jack would ask if anyone knew Sally, but no one answered. Until one snowy day, someone rewarded their performance with a red envelope, instead of money.

"It's addressed to you, Sally." The Mayor said.

Curiously, Sally tore open the envelope and grabbed the content within.

Inside was a letter that read; "Dear Sally, if you wish to know more about your past, come see me at my lab located north of this town. Sincerely, Dr. Finklestien."

Sally looked back at the others nervously. "Should I go?" She asked.

Torako snatched the letter from Sally and read it and re-read multiple times before answering. "I don't like the looks of this. It could be the captain again, or someone trying to capture us."

"Well, we can't just leave it alone." The Mayor said. "What should we do?"

"I think we should go together." Jack said. "We'd have a better chance of taking whatever's out there, than if Sally just went alone."

"Poyo!"

The group agreed. It was their best option.

"And who knows?" Sally said. "Maybe this guy is telling the truth?"

….

It had been hour since the group had departed for the mysterious location, and so far they hadn't found anything, just a one-lane highway beneath them and snowflakes above them. The sun had just set, and everyone was on the top of the ship looking for anything, absolutely anything, as "Alone again, naturally" was playing on the radio.

"Are you sure we're going in the right direction, Torako?" Jack asked.

"For the tenth time, yes! Look on the compass, it say's north."

"Hey guys," Sally shouted, "there's something wrong with Kirby!"

Everyone turned and looked at Kirby, who was waving his arms up and down frantically and shouting "Poyo, poyo!"

"What's the matter, Kirby?" Jack asked.

Kirby pointed his stubby little, hand? Stub? Whatever, he pointed towards a tall tower outlined in the darkness. In one of the windows was a bit of light, which acted as a beacon for the group.

As they got closer, the tower began to become more and more massive with each moment. It made their ship look like a little toy compared to the immense tower.

"I don't like this…" Sally whispered.

Jack came over and place his hands on her shoulders (which peeked the Mayor's interest and slightly aggravated Torako) and said "If you don't want to do this, we'll turn back around."

"No," She said, "I have all of you here with me; I know we'll be okay."

The ship was parked towards the front of the tower and the group made their way towards the front door.

"Hey, where's the doorbell?" Sally asked.

"Surprisingly around the Mayor's eye-level." Torako replied. "Mayor, ring the doorbell."

The Mayor looked at the doorbell and immediately decided not to. After all, who would want to ring a doorbell with a family of poisonous spiders, a radioactive glow, several chords sticking out of it, a skull nearby saying "ring the doorbell mortal," and an army of scorpions eating the family of spiders?

"I'm not doing it!" The Mayor pouted.

"Fine, I'll do it you pansy!" Torako growled. Then she lifted her foot and smashed it against the doorbell, causing it to ring and be covered in various bug juices.

"Eeeewwww…" The others said.

From the other side of the door, a mechanical whirring sound began to grow louder as it approached the door.

The door opened slightly, but was covered in darkness, and the man behind it could not be seen.

A scraggly decrepit voice emitted from the other side. "Are you with the police?"

"No."

"The FBI?"

"No."

"Are you from that party? Because if you are, I apologize for backing over your wife with my pick-up truck. It was dark outside and I thought she was a raccoon."

"Uh…no."

"We're here with Sally." Jack said.

There was a moment of silence, before the door slammed shut. Tears welled up in Sally's eyes. "Let's just go…" She choked.

The five began to somberly head in the other direction, until the sounds of locks unlocking came from behind them. The door opened with a loud creak and a wrinkly old man in a motorized wheelchair and sunglasses emerged from the door. His face resembled that of a mutant duck.

He outstretched his arms towards Sally. "It's been so long." He said.

….

The lab was cold and dimly lighted. Various machines were cluttered around the room. The older ones had been taken over by spider webs, while the newer ones followed the group with their beady red eyes.

The group followed the man in silence as they ascended up a spiral passage that led to a lab all the way to the top. Inside of the lab were vats of various things; from insects to body parts. There was also a cylinder machine with mechanical claw hands at rest.

Sally, Jack and the man in the wheelchair were the first to reach the top. Torako and the Mayor were the last two. Although there slight delay may have been because they were having a conversation that consisted of sentences such as; "Man that old guy is creepy."

"Right? He looks like one of those rubber ducks that you leave in the bath tub for months."

"Yeah, and by the time you get back to it, it's all moldy and shriveled up."

Thankfully, the man didn't hear any of Torako and the Mayor's crude conversation. However, he did hear Sally's soft voice when she asked him; "Are you Dr. Finkelstien?"

The man turned slowly around and faced Sally and said "Yes, I am."

Curiosity and anxiety sprouted up inside Sally. Desperately, she got down on her knees so she was eye-level with the Dr. and asked "How do you know me?"

"I'll answer that in a moment; first, tell me how are your wings are functioning?"

Everyone else looked away meekly, since in a way, they were all responsible for breaking her wings.

"They're…they're broken…" Sally said softly.

"WHAT!" The Dr. shouted (an surprisingly high volume). "This is terrible! We must get them fixed right away!"

"Why are they so important?" The Mayor asked.

Dr. Finkelstien looked at all of them grimly. "Without them, our future will be doomed…"

Torako stared at him coldly. "What do you mean?"

"All right," the Dr. said, "best if all of you take a seat first. This may take a few moments. Listen, in this world, there are multiple duplicates of it, each one living in separate timelines. We live in the third most recent timeline. In the first timeline, which takes place in the future, there is an evil organization called 'Roulette' that is led by a sinister man named Oogie Boogie."

"Oogie?" Torako asked. "That's a dumb name-"

"QUIET!" The Mayor shouted. "I want to hear the story!"

"Anyways," The Dr. continued, "In the first timeline, Oogie tried to take over the world, but was stopped by the four of you before his plan was ever put into motion. However, in the second timeline… Jack was killed by his fiancée Jewel on the night of his wedding rehearsal before he had the chance to meet any of you... and Roulette succeeded in their plans."

Sally was mortified, "Jack…was engaged..?" She thought.

"Wait," Jack said, "how do you know Jewel (come to think of it, you two look a lot alike)."

"…I created her…" The Dr. said sadly. "She was my first creation, before Sally. The two of us were so happy together…but…shortly after Sally was created; Roulette came and kidnapped both of you, in an attempt to continue the legacy of the second timeline. I was devastated, I thought neither of you would return to me, but, one day Jewel came back. I was so happy to see her, but by the time we were re-united, she was a completely different person. As followed in the second timeline, she had become a member of Roulette. She only came back to kill me."

"Then why are you still here?" Torako huffed.

"Ever heard of 'playing dead'?"

There was a long moment of silence before Sally spoke up. "Why…are these wings so important, if I didn't have them in any of the other timelines?"

"Good question." The Dr. said. "It's part of an old legend, actually. It goes like this;_ when the world of three, is haunted by a repeated catastrophe, only one can free them from the dark. A creation from hand, stitched from sapphire strand shall be the seven-soul ark. Four wings together, glass lighter than feather, shall soar in the sky. Our savior, The Red Dragonfly. Young savior, keep these souls close to you, and undo the wrong of the world of two. _In other words, only a man-made creation with four dragonfly wings and seven souls can change what happened in the second dimension."

"Wait," Jack said, "I have three questions for you,"

"Go on."

"First off, who wrote that legend? You'd have to be able to see into the future of all three dimensions in order to know what would happen."

"Hmm, to be honest, even I don't know. But there is a rumor that there's some sort of dimension who's inhabitants have knowledge of all the others, and this legend mat have been written by them."

"Okay, second question. How are we going to stop Roulette?"

"With my latest invention, you're going to travel to the second dimension, find the mystic ruins and follow the legacy of the Red Dragonfly from there."

"Alright, here's my third. What did you mean by seven souls?"

Torako stood up and walked over to Jack. "I think I can answer that one." She said.

* * *

**Sorry if this chapter was a little confusing. But as long as you remember that their going to the second timeline and the legend then you do okay.**

**Now here are those lyrics I promised. This song is a Simpsons parody to Poker face. So just sing the following the lyrics to the tune of Poker Face.**

**Or just listen to the credits from the Simpsons Lady Gaga special. I don't own this song.  
**

* * *

**I love my Homer Face, yeah that's what I said.  
**

**Right where it should be; on the front of my head  
**

**Double muzzle, overbite, two eyes that really bug.  
**

**These are the components of my Homerific mug.  
**

**D'oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, D'oh-oh-oh-oh.  
**

**I shave it close, trim hairs my nose.  
**

**D'oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, D'oh-oh-oh-oh.**

**I clean my ears, cuz that's how I hears.  
**

**I like my, I like my, I'm really liken' my Homer Face!  
**


End file.
